Mount Pocono postpones decision about trash hauling until next week

Mount Pocono residents will have to wait at least another week before they know how their trash will be picked up in 2013. The borough put off a vote on its garbage collection contract for 2013 until a special meeting at 7 p.m. Monday.

Mount Pocono residents will have to wait at least another week before they know how their trash will be picked up in 2013.

The borough put off a vote on its garbage collection contract for 2013 until a special meeting at 7 p.m. Monday.

"Believe me, the last thing I want to do is have another meeting on the garbage pickup," said Solicitor Jim Fareri. "But I think we owe it to the bidders to take a look at this."

Two companies submitted bids for the borough's municipal garbage pick-up contract, J.P. Mascaro and Sons of Allentown, the current contract holder, and Kreitzer Sanitation of Orwigsburg. Mascaro brought up issues with Kreitzer's proposed bid, and Fareri said Kreitzer only very recently answered the concerns.

Fareri didn't say what the issues are, but said there were seven concerns from Mascaro that Kreitzer addressed.

"This is something we have to take a look at now," Fareri said.

Even with the bids and the special meeting, the borough may decide to decline both bids and have its residents arrange their own trash pick-up, a method some council members said they favor.

The debate has gone on for more than two months, as the borough first rejected sanitation bids in October and re-bid the contract in November.

If the borough decides to reject the bids and allow individual pick-up, residents would have only 20 days until the start of 2013 to make trash pick-up arrangements.

If the borough accepts one of the bids, it likely will come with a bill increase for each property.

Council President John Finnerty echoed Fareri's feelings, saying he didn't want to belabor the sanitation issue, but said the borough needed to protect itself.

"We have to make sure we're in good legal standing here," he said.

Mount Pocono and East Stroudsburg are the only two Monroe County municipalities with municipal trash pick-up. Mount Pocono only collects trash from residents, not businesses.